AT THE INTERSECTION of busy State Highway 60 and 8th Avenue Northwest just blocks from downtown Faribault, motorists zoom past a corner kiosk marking the location of a once historic landmark business in this southern Minnesota city.
On this spot along the highway, Farmer Seed & Nursery stood next to the railroad tracks, an icon of agriculture rooted initially in selling seeds to farmers. But, through the decades, the company grew into much more, supplying nursery stock, plants, seeds and such to the public, the everyday gardener via seed catalogs and a retail store.
During the holiday season, the business flocked trees, making them a local signature Christmas offering.
Today the history of this long-standing Faribault entity is summarized on two informational panels recently installed in a corner kiosk next to Midwest Flats, a new 55-unit apartment building, and Midwest Indoor Storage, both occupying the former Farmer Seed site.
The informational panels are displayed inside an airy wood-frame structure partially-constructed with beams salvaged from the Farmer Seed building. After the business closed in 2018 and before it was demolished in 2023, volunteers and staff from the Rice County Historical Society saved artifacts from the building, listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Today those items, like signs, seed packets, catalogs and advertisements, are showcased in a small exhibit inside Heritage Hall at the historical society. Information and select artifacts from that collection were incorporated into the kiosk signage, RCHS Executive Director Dave Nichols said. He welcomes visitors to tour the museum display with 24 hours advance notice given. Local artist and historian Jeff Jarvis provided the initial sketches for the overall kiosk design.
Back along the highway, anyone can stop anytime to read a summary of Farmer Seed’s history, which began with its founding in 1888 in Chicago. By 1893, the thriving business had moved west to Faribault. Farmer Seed quickly became nationally-known. Six years after its relocation here, Farmer Seed moved across the street into a large stone warehouse once occupied by Faribault Threshing Company.
For Faribault residents, Farmer Seed represents more than an iconic business with a 125-year history here. It represents memories. Buying seeds, bulbs and other gardening merchandise. For some, packing seeds inside the sprawling multi-floor complex. For others, wandering among beautifully-decorated Christmas trees in the retail shop and choosing an ornament to buy each year. For some families, purchasing a flocked tree.
Local historian Jarvis is collecting those stories for a Farmer Seed memory book. Community members can submit their stories via a submissions form found on Jarvis’ West Cedar Studio website, https://westcedarstudio.com/farmer-seed-nursery-memory-book/. The book will include photos and additional information along with those personal stories.
The memory book will complete a three-phase endeavor to preserve Farmer Seed’s history. The Faribault Heritage Preservation Commission early on recognized the need to document Farmer Seed’s history by requiring the new property owner to complete several historical remembrance projects. The first came in a 20×24-foot mural designed by Jarvis and painted by Melodee Strong of Minneapolis. Installed in 2025, it hangs on the west exterior side of the indoor storage unit building.
The kiosk completion marks the second phase of the HPC directive.
While the massive Farmer Seed building could not be saved from demolition, its legacy in the Faribault community endures. The mural, the informational kiosk and the memory book are fitting historic tributes to a company that once stood strong, next to the train tracks along Minnesota State Highway 60, as a cherished local landmark business.
© Copyright 2026 Audrey Kletscher Helbling
Minnesota Prairie Roots 
Speeding on Willow Street, through my neighborhood September 2, 2026
Tags: city street, commentary, Faribault, Faribault Police Department, law enforcement, Minnesota, monitoring speed, neighborhood, residential street, speed trailer, speeding, traffic, traffic laws, traffic violation, Willow Street
FOR 42 YEARS, Randy and I have lived in the same house along an arterial street through Faribault. And in those four-plus decades, traffic volume has increased significantly due to growth on the south end of town. Speeding and crashes have also risen, based on my observations.
For example, less than a year ago a Suburban, pursued by a pick-up truck, took out the power pole by our home, crossed our front yard (almost hitting our house) and destroyed a newly-stained fence panel. Other crashes have occurred within eyesight of our home.
I don’t know the cause of most crashes. It could be inattentive/distracted/impaired driving, a medical issue, driver error, speeding… Without reading police reports, I can’t say.
But frankly, I am growing weary of all of this. The speed. The crashes. The disrespect for the Willow Street neighborhood.
Willow Street runs for 10 uninterrupted blocks from Division Street to Tenth Street through an all-residential neighborhood with one exception, an automotive repair shop in the 200 block. That’s a lengthy stretch of roadway without anything to slow down motorists. And, no, I’m not advocating for a stop sign. But something needs to change.
Those of us who live along this street deserve to be respected, to feel safe in our homes, to be seen as a neighborhood and not just a route for drivers to quickly get to their destinations.
A few days ago, the Faribault Police Department installed a temporary electronic speed monitoring trailer along the southbound side of Willow near our house per the request of City Councilman John Rowan. I’m thankful to see this in place as a speed deterrent. If that data is recorded, I’d like to see the results.
Curious as to how fast motorists were driving, I decided to observe. But before heading outside to watch numbers flash across the electronic screen, I made a small sign with two words: SLOW DOWN. I stood along the sidewalk by my house and watched, my head swiveling between oncoming southbound vehicles and the sign. Drivers could not see me and my sign until they were closing in on me and the speed trailer, meaning I did not affect their speed.
I set the parameters of only tabulating speeds of 35 mph or faster. I wanted to give drivers some grace. The speed limit is 30 mph.
I didn’t have to wait long. Within five minutes of planting my feet on the sidewalk late Monday afternoon, I observed five vehicles driving 35 (2), 36, 38 and 42 mph. One defiant driver even gunned his black pick-up truck to increase his speed when he saw me with my SLOW DOWN sign. The same happened mid Tuesday afternoon when I observed again for a short time, but did not tally speeds. The top speed, though, was 40 mph.
Between 4:30-5:15 p.m. Monday, I recorded 18 vehicles driving anywhere between 35-45 mph. I did not count the total number of vehicles driving southbound on Willow. But suffice to say that, along this busy street, traffic was steady, if not heavy.
Tuesday morning I was back on the sidewalk again with my sign at 7:40 a.m., when people are mostly driving to work and school. Within the first 10 minutes, I noted seven vehicles traveling between 35-38 mph. Thirty minutes later, when I left my post, I’d tallied 12 motorists driving too fast, most in the upper 30s. I also noticed drivers on their cellphones both days, a violation of Minnesota state law.
Based on numbers displayed on the electronic sign, I could have issued 30 warnings or citations for driving over the speed limit. But that is not my job. It belongs to law enforcement. Councilor Rowan requested extra patrols along Willow Street. I am grateful for that.
If existing traffic laws are enforced and Willow Street becomes known as a “speed trap,” that could act as an effective deterrent to speeding.
Something needs to change. Willow Street needs to be seen as the neighborhood it is, not as the thoroughfare it has become for too many drivers. People live here, walk here, bike here, try to back safely out of their driveways and cross the street here.
I don’t pretend to have all the answers. But education, prevention, traffic law enforcement and police presence seem logical starters.
THOUGHTS? IDEAS? Please share specifics.
© Copyright 2026 Audrey Kletscher Helbling